The hair-raising court battle over a salon in Sydney’s inner west

“To sculpt a head of hair with scissors is an art form. It’s in pursuit of art,” the late celebrity hairstylist Vidal Sassoon said.

The NSW Land and Environment Court has embraced Sassoon’s sentiments. In a ruling touted as a “big win” for hairdressers and beauty therapists, the court granted approval for a hair and beauty salon in Sydney’s inner west on the basis that the site will be “used for creative purposes”.

At the heart of the case was a dispute between a company and Inner West Council over whether a commercial and industrial building opposite the Marrickville Metro shopping centre could be fitted out for a hair and beauty premises by Salon Lane, which rents space to independent businesses.

Salon Lane already has locations in Sydney, including Bondi Junction and Surry Hills.

The council said the salon was prohibited because the Inner West Local Environmental Plan says consent for business or office space in the area, zoned general industrial, must be refused unless the council is “satisfied … the development will be used for creative purposes”, including media, advertising and fine arts.

NSW Land and Environment Court Commissioner Joanne Gray considered whether a hair and beauty salon was a business “used for creative purposes”.

“From the mohawk to the ‘short back and sides’, a person’s hairstyle can range from an expression of personality to a demonstration of conformity,” Gray said at the opening of her decision.

“[Over] history, particular hairstyles have been representative of a class or occupation, symbolic of a social movement or a requirement of a religious persuasion.”

Gray said the council argued that “although some hairstyles are a form of creative expression, hairdressing is often a purely utilitarian exercise that forms part of standard personal grooming”.